There is a longstanding need for antimicrobial agents having improved efficacy and non-irritating and non-corrosive characteristics. The specific requirements for such agents vary according to the intended application (e.g., sanitizer, disinfectant, cleaner, sterilant, etc.) and the applicable public health requirements. For example, as set out in Germicidal and Detergent Sanitizing Action of Disinfectants, Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists, a sanitizer should provide a 99.999% reduction (5-log order reduction) within 30 seconds at room temperature against several test organisms, whereas a disinfectant should kill all vegetative cells including most recognized pathogenic microorganisms.
There is a further need for antimicrobial compositions in which fatty acid antimicrobial agents are effectively coupled with a surfactant agent to ensure there is no esterification of the fatty acid antimicrobial agent. Conventional compositions of fatty acid antimicrobial agents that are coupled with amines often result in complexing, decreasing the stability of the composition. Often a cloudy composition results indicative of the esterification and loss of antimicrobial activity. Therefore, additional coupling compositions are necessary for fatty acid antimicrobial compositions.